Spring is officially upon us, and with it a splash of colour in rural areas and public gardens around the Maltese islands.

While only nature can take credit for the flowers carpeting the countryside, a quiet military-like operation has been under way as truckloads of geraniums, pansies and dianthus arrive to brighten gardens, roundabouts and roadsides.

Some 2.5 million plants are planted by the Environmental Landscapes Consortium (ELC) every year and changed over to new seasonal species every few months, according to chairman Peter Calamatta.

Truckloads of geraniums, pansies, dianthus arrive to gardens, roundabouts and roadsides

While a large number were once brought in from Italy, the ELC now grows all the flowers itself, starting four or five months in advance, first in a greenhouse area before they are moved into semi-protected and then unprotected areas to be ‘hardened’ by the elements before they are planted.

Flowers brightened up San Anton Gardens in Attard yesterday, heralding longer and sunnier days.Flowers brightened up San Anton Gardens in Attard yesterday, heralding longer and sunnier days.

Some flowers, such as the purple cineraria on ample display in San Anton Gardens this year, require as much as nine months of preparation, such that a spring array often means a full year of planning.

When the time comes, no fewer than 350 people – and over a hundred vans and cherry-pickers – are involved in planting hundreds of thousands of flowers over two or three weeks.

With the fruits of this work now on show, Mr Calamatta said his attention was turning to May’s annual Valletta infiorata, which this year will give visitors the opportunity to walk through the floral carpet for a closer look at its colourful display.

Some flowers require as much as nine months of preparation.Some flowers require as much as nine months of preparation.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.